Montreal Canadiens: Storylines heading into the 2018 Rookie Camp

1. Is Jesperi Kotkaniemi Ready?

This is an obvious one. Players taken in the top-five of the draft always have an expectation to crack the NHL roster quickly. Kotkaniemi selected at third puts him in that conversation, but he’s also had some very impressive performances this summer playing for Team Finland at the U20s, the Four Nations Tournament, and preseason games for Ässät.

Kotkaniemi has always looked a step above everyone else. His vision and awareness have allowed him to set up a lot of plays whether it’s by noticing the trajectory of a teammate or making the defence-first move to put himself in a position to generate. And the thing about Kotkaniemi is that it’s relentless, he doesn’t stop. He’s always looking for ways to advance the puck forward and pile on pressure on his opponents.

The two cons that are clear to notice is his skating (which isn’t as horrible as some made it out to be) and his susceptibility to a physical presence. Games against the Czech Republic where the clear goal was to shut Kotkaniemi down saw him on the wrong end of hits and holds along the boards. However, that forced him to work harder, and it didn’t seem to be a problem for him in those Liiga games.

Coaches are sure to have the same mentality at the Rookie Tournament, so it will be a good way to mark whether he can handle the grind on the smaller ice surface, which is another hurdle.

The key to dictate whether Kotkaniemi is ready or not will be how far he stands out amongst his peers. If he can take that to main camp, then there’s a good chance the 18-year-old gets a set of games to start the year. Victor Mete had a similar start last year where a strong performance at the Rookie Tournament made its way to a strong training camp and an eventual spot on the team.

Kotkaniemi could find himself down a similar path, but again, the evaluation starts now.

2. Need for Speed

The games this weekend will be a first for many to see how Joël Bouchard runs a bench in a semi-competitive setting. Bouchard has always been a coach who values players who play fast and doesn’t like to use too much structure. Essentially, it’s a “let the players play” mentality which isn’t seen too often.

That may lead to this Habs prospect team being very offensive, and they have the potential to do so given their roster that has a lot of goals. Will Bitten, Allan McShane, and Alexandre Alain for starters should be leaders in that regard, but it can also members of the blueline to spread their wings a little bit.

Seeing as how a good chunk of these players are expected to be on the Laval Rocket this season, we could be getting an early preview of how the team performs every night.

3. Making the Best of an Invitation

The Montreal Canadiens will have six invitees at rookie camp who could work their way to contracts in some way shape or form. Think back to last year with the likes of Jordan Boucher and Thomas Ebbing he performed well and were signed to AHL contracts. They started their season in the ECHL with the Brampton Beast, and it didn’t take too long for them to get called up to Laval. It took longer for both sides to get pen to paper, but Alain was originally a camp invite who worked his way to an entry-level deal.

Brandon Hagel is probably at the top of the list of invites who look to be done with junior. An injury held back the number of games he played in Red Deer last year, but he still managed to score at a point-per-game pace. Production like that could warrant some tougher competition.

Andrew Zadarnowski of Habs Eyes on the Prize brought up an interesting point on Twitter yesterday. Is it possible that some of the players Bouchard had in Blainville-Boisbriand have a slight advantage due to familarity?

Aleksi Anttalainen, Joël Teasdale, and Alexander Katerinakis are all coming from that organization. However, only Katerinakis is eligible to play in the minors as he turned 20 last April. Laval may be his ticket to the higher level.

4. The ‘New’ New Guys

Last year, the Habs went overseas to acquire talent after they signed Jakub Jerabek to a one-year deal out of the KHL. Jerabek started the season in the AHL to adjust to the North American style of play and was later called up ahead of the triggering of his European Assignment Clause.

Marc Bergevin did it again by prying Michal Moravcik and David Sklenicka from the Czech Republic this passing summer. Both were strong contributors to the country’s World Hockey Championship team which also had veteran Tomas Plekanec. They are both pretty unknown but were noticed because of their skating which again, a coach like Bouchard will try to use as much as possible.

Moravcik is older at 23 and the bigger of the two (6’4″ 212 pounds) and was described as being one of the better defencemen in the Czech league while playing for the Pilsen Indians. He also scored slightly more than Sklenicka (5’11” 181 pounds) putting up 16 points to the latter’s 14.

Similarly to Jerabek, there is a European Assignment Clause attached to their deals. The date hasn’t been confirmed yet, but we can for now that it will be somewhere between November and December. If it’s the same as Jerabek’s, then Moravick and Sklenicka can choose to return to Europe and play for the Pelicans.

That was a major issue for Jerabek as he was signed to a one-year deal, but Moravick and Sklenicka received two-year contracts. The Montreal Canadiens could afford to have them leave for the year to only see them come back with more to bring ahead of camp. But that’s months away. There’s also the chance both prove they have a lot to give and recognize that staying in Laval could be the better option for their development.

Eyes should be on them as well.

5. The 2017 Blueline

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The Montreal Canadiens must have Josh Brook, Scott Walford, Jarret Tyszka, and Cale Fleury signed by June 1st to hold on to their rights. The first three are most likely to return to junior and improve on their play, but there is still a lot of question marks around Fleury. With a late birthday, the third-round pick is eligible to compete in the AHL this season, and that may be the better option for him.

Fleury has proven to be an all-around defender in junior but excels more in the attacking field of the craft. Like many have mentioned, there isn’t a glaring weakness in his game which makes projecting him in the minors so easy. However, he needs an entry-level contract to do that. Turning pro may be the goal for Fleury as he didn’t report to the Regina Pats camp.

So again, we have another Habs prospect who will need to start the evaluation process as to whether he can turn pro, at rookie camp. He’ll make a strong case for himself if he stands out amongst his peers. But it’ll also be important that Fleury doesn’t try to do too much in order to do so.

It’ll be interesting to see what the answers to some of these questions are going to be. Jake Evans is another story as he’s taking part for the first time after completing his four years at the University of Notre Dame. The same goes for Lukas Vejdemo who chose to play in North America this season after signing his entry-level contract.

Will there be any surprises? Will there be any disappointments? Similar to the Montreal Canadiens, we’ll just have to sit back and watch.